860 



I^HE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Dec. 1 4 1905 



and the demand for eggs from his stock comes in the spring, 

 the eggs to be used for breeding purposes; and the prices 

 which he gets at that time are almost fabulous. Being there 

 a few days ago. he came from his chicken-house with two 

 eggs from his spring pullets. I ventured the remark to him. 

 the same as the ordinary barn-yard poultry keeper would do, 

 "Quite lucky that your pullets have begun laying thus, right 

 on the eve of the high winter prices for eggs, as eggs are 

 worth about 3 cents each at the grocery now, and will be still 

 higher before the holidays." 



He gave me a glance which told me that he thought I 

 did not know much about keeping fancy poultry (and he was 

 right), and said. "I am using every effort at this time of the 

 year, through feed, .^tc, to keep these pullets from laying 

 now, for those which lay when eggs at the groceries are the 

 highest are not apt to lay much in the spring, when I can sell 

 my eggs at ten times as much, egg for egg, as I can during 

 the winter months." 



This set me to thinking regarding the bees, and reminded 

 me that the queen which bred too prolifically "out of season" 

 was not the one which gave the best results when the honey 

 harvest was on. 



I have often noticed that a colony which wintered ex- 

 tremely well, so that the queen goes to breeding very rapidly 

 in the early spring, does not equal the one which comes out in 

 an average condition, but commences brood-rearing in earnest 

 about May 20th to 30th. The reason is that by June 10th 

 the queen in the stronger one ceases to be as prolific as the 

 other, or becomes like the man's hens do which are laying 

 prolifically in mid-winter ; they giving few eggs in the spring, 

 just at the time when his eggs bring him the best price. 



So the early strong colony spends all its best force at 

 producing bees prematurely, bringing them on the stage of 

 action too early to take advantage of the main honey harvest, 

 while the queen ceases her prolificness just in time so that 

 what workers there are store their first honey in the brood- 

 combs, thus crowding the queen down to less and less room, 

 with very little honey in the sections. 



It has been noticed by very many, and many times, that if 

 the bees are allowed to get the start of the queen so as to 

 make any general storing of honey in the brood-chamber be- 

 fore entering the sections, during the first of the honey 

 harvest, such a colony will not give the best results in section 

 honey. And for these reasons I work as does my poultry- 

 fancying neighbor, to discourage all extra-prolific brood- 

 rearing, except at the time when such prolific breeding will 

 bring the bees in just the right time for the main honey-flow, 

 be that from white clover, basswood, or buckwheat, or all 

 three. 



Then when the harvest arrives, if I find colonies which 

 do not have a hive more than half full of brood, dummies 

 are put in to take the place of the combs containing no brood, 

 and in this way I am enabled to make the colony containing 

 only 30,000 bees produce nearly half as much section honey 

 as does the one which has come up to the honey harvest in 

 the desired condition. 



The colony given to early breeding can in a measure be 

 restrained by allowing it a scanty supply of stores, and con- 

 tracting the room in the brood-chamber with dummies till the 

 time comes for the rush of brood, when it will "rush to the 

 rescue" when you wish it to do so b-- filling out the hu^ with 

 combs having a liberal supply of honey in them. " 



Those given to late brood-rearing can be hurried along, 

 when the right time comes, by giving a frame of brood from 

 one which "has rim a little too fast," together with stores 

 sufficient to make them feel in a prosperous condition, thus 

 bringing all up to the right point just at the right time, and 

 when best to take advantage of the main honey-flow when 

 it is on. 



It is the attending to such items as these in bee-culture 

 that gives the best success. Borodino, N. Y. 



# 



Black Bees— A Reply to Allen Latham 



BY HARRY LATHROP. 



MR. ALLEN LATHAM, on page 775, has given expression 

 to thoughts that have doubtless occurred to many bee- 

 keepers. I know I have often remarked at the per- 

 sistency of the black race, and wondered if they would not 

 have proven as profitable in a honey-gathering way as any 

 other strain if the same care had been bestowed on them. I 

 have had experience with them for over 20 years, generally 

 having a few of them in one or the other of my yards. While 

 occasionally a colony would do as well as any of the others, 



they never seemed to average as well. They were more often 

 found with small brood-chambers, queens that were poor lay- 

 ers, and gave evidence many times of being what they really 

 were — a run-out race. 



Two years ago I purchased a whole apiary of black bees 

 and brought them here. I ran them one season, and that was 

 enough for me ; I want no more black bees in my business. 

 This season I sent to one breeder and procured breeders for 

 queens, and to another for queens from which to rear drones. 

 It is my ambition to rid this apiary of the last vestige of black 

 blood next year. 



As I said before, I have had some black bees right along, 

 and tolerated them, but when it came to having a whole yard, 

 after having worked for years with Italians, I simply could 

 not endure them, and I think that were I compelled to breed 

 only blacks or quit bee-keeping, it would be quit. 



I do not object to them so much on account of their 

 being cross; they are not so n uch crosscr than the others, 

 but in my practice I clip queens every spring. It is an easy 

 matte^ to find and clip Italian queens, but a hopeless task to 

 start in on a yard of blacks. 



I favor the leather-colored Italians. They are good work- 

 ers, queens are easilv located ; in fact, any and every manipu- 

 lation is made with comfort and dispatch. I fully agree that 

 by proper care the black race might be made equal to any for 

 honey-gathering qualities, and we all like the way they cap 

 their comb honey, but they are so disagreeable to work with 

 that I think very few having had experience with them would 

 wish to increase the stock. 



There is another reason why black bees are undesirable : 

 A cross between the black bee and the pure Italian results 

 in a good worker, but the Grossest bee on earth, unless it be 

 the Cyprian. 



I have had hybrid colonies that were better than any 

 others for work, but such fighters that it became a serious 

 matter to get their honey away from them. 



I believe in enjoying life as j-ou go along, if possible, 

 therefore the black bees and their crosses should be ruled out, 

 as they make life more or less miserable for those who must 

 work with them. On the other hand, the Italian race of bees, 

 with proper care, are good workers, prolific, beautiful, and 

 kindly disposed. After a great many 3-ears of active work, 

 during which time they have been on trial by nearly all the 

 more prominent bee-keepers, they are deservedly the most 

 popular race of bees to-dav. Bridgeport, Wis., Nov. 14. 



# 



Honey Marketing and Publicity 



BY JAMES WILCOCK 



THE article appearing- on page 743 is the best that I have 

 seen ; and please allow me to state that there is room 

 for the sale of hundreds of tons of honey in this coun- 

 try ; that is, honey of first-class quality, but the people 

 here seem to have a great prejudice against American honey 

 — they seem to think it is all adulterated. I have tried to 

 persuade them that it is an impossibility to manufacture 

 comb honey ; in fact, you can scarcely sell comb honey, but 

 of good extracted honey you can sell any amount. _ I have 

 never had any difficulty in selling my honey. I pat it up in 

 1-pound glass jars, and fix a label on them, and by putting 

 on that label, if my honey was not pure, I should render 

 myself liable under the Food and Drugs Act, to a fine of 

 from $20 to $100. 



I could sell now, right here in this country district, a 

 ton of honey in glass jars before Christmas. 



Now, Mr. Editor, will you allow me to give The Honey 

 Producers' League a little advice? And if they will only 

 take it, I have no hesitation in saying that all the ripe 

 American honey of good flavor need not wait long for a 

 good market. 



As Mr. Green has said, establish your brands, or your 

 trade-mark, and let there be a central place fixed for The 

 Honey-Producers' League, say at Chicago, with branch 

 places at Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis, and let all 

 the honey that bears its trade-mark be thoroughly exam- 

 ined by experts appointed in those places to examine the 

 honey, and all honey that is not ripe and of good flavor let 

 it be excluded. 



Advertise in all the leading papers in this country as to 

 the purity of your honey, and let there be samples sent to 

 all the leading stores in the United States and England, 

 and you will soon find that your honey will not have to he 

 glutted away the same as it has been in some of your 

 markets. 



Thanks to Mrs. A. L. Amos (page 763), for her letter 



